The Latest from the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation Restoration
Overview of the Project
This is an exciting time at the Matilda Joslyn Gage Home! Under the direction of Leo Construction & Development, Phase 2 of the comprehensive restoration and rehabilitation of the home is well underway. Construction crews went to work immediately after the August 26 groundbreaking, and the structure has been transforming steadily ever since. Things are happening so quickly at the Gage Home that we hardly have time to catch our breath. If you’ve driven by 210 East Genesee lately, you know what we mean.
A month ago we had a flat expanse of grass where today the Ruth Putter Welcome Center now stands, its cedar shake roof complete. By the time you read this, its siding may be on as well. To date all the interior demo work inside the Gage Home has been completed, and the foundation walls have been installed. Hickory flooring has been approved for the oldest part of the house, where the existing gables were removed and a new roof sheathed. The east bay window has been rebuilt in the exact spot that it appears in the 1887 photo taken by L. Frank Baum. New sidewalks have been poured, and the mechanical trades (electrical, plumbing and heating) are hard at work installing systems that will bring the building up to the new building code regulations. We’ve uncovered more historic wallpaper from the Gage era and even pre-Gage occupation of the house. Marc Leonardis of Leo Construction in Skaneateles, our contractor, is on schedule, and if the weather holds up, we will meet our deadline of completing the rehabilitation by the end of the year.
